Tables and counters are sources of aesthetic contribution and utilitarian objects in virtually every business and dwelling. Tables are made and counters are constructed in virtually any desired shape and size to perform the particular function desired, whether it be aesthetic or utilitarian.
It is known to construct tables which have portions which are illuminated for various reasons. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,248, to Broach, issued Oct. 17, 1978, describes illuminated decorative tables. Broach discloses a table which has a transparent cover, such a glass and an opaque planar portion. The opaque portion may be made of wood or any other material, such as a sheet of steel or opaque polymer, etc. According to Broach, openings are formed in the opaque planar portion to define a pattern, which may be in virtually any desired configuration. Incandescent or other lights are place beneath the opaque surface in position such that the lights can shine upwardly through the transparent surface. Janssen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,917, Nov. 11, 1952, discloses a bed tray which has an illuminated portion to provide light for reading or carrying on other activities.
Chakow, U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,248, Aug. 17, 1937, also discloses a table with a transparent top or planar surface which includes a light below the surface for projecting light from below up through the surface of the table.
Rau, U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,829, May 25, 1965, discloses a dining room table which provides a means for illuminating the table including a tank or reservoir for a liquid and means for lighting the liquid, the light being reflected or transmitted from the liquid through the top of the table, which is transparent in whole or in part.
It is also known to light other planar objects such as dispensing trays to permit the users to better see the objects which are carried on the tray. Such a device is disclosed by Switala in U.S Pat. No. 4,254,452, Mar. 3, 1981.
The use of light for utilitarian and aesthetic purposes is very widely known and, of course, is found in virtually every facet of man's life.
In recent years, fiber optics have become very popular for guiding light from a single source of light to many spaced apart portions of an object or many objects, or to a very small space where the space is too small to hold a light producing source such as a bulb. Fiber optics have, for example, been used in surgical instruments to examine cell structure and the like. Fiber optics also find considerable application in aesthetic devices. By use of fiber optics, light can be guided from a single source into virtually any complex configuration. Null, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,247, June 18, 1968, discloses a pendulum light source which uses fiber optically transmitted light, and McCaslin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,495, discloses a fiber optic light display. The technology of fiber optics is quite well understood and, indeed, the future course of ground based communications is tending strongly toward fiber optic technology.
Notwithstanding the common use of light for aesthetic and utilitarian purposes, the known use of light in furniture such as tables and the like, fiber optics have not been used in any extended way, or perhaps not at all, in the construction and design of furniture. While lighted tables and counters are known, the lights are often difficult to reach and replacement becomes a serious maintenance consideration. In addition, most incandescent lamps, which are the major source of lighting for most such applications, are unreliable and heat producing. Space must be provided and ventilation for dissipating the heat from incandescent light in order to obtain a reasonably usable life and to prevent injury or discomfort to users. For these reasons, and others, the use of light in furniture design has been very limited. A need, therefore, exists for lighted furniture which is easily manufactured, which is easily maintained, which does not generate undue heat or utilize undue power, and which takes advantage of the ability to mold transparent materials into desired shapes. It is a feature and an object of this invention, therefore, to solve this long standing problem in the furniture industry.